Snow

Sunday, March 18, 2018

Three nor'easters in less than two weeks! Enough already! First there was Riley on March 2-3, then there was Quinn on the 7th and finally (?) Skylar this past Tuesday March 13th.

Nor’easters form when balmy ocean breezes collide with cold air from over the continent - the larger the difference in temperature, the more powerful the storm. And no surprise to most of us, scientists say that climate change is fueling nor’easters, by warming the seas. These powerhouse storms have come with varying degrees of heavy snow and rain, sustained strong winds, and surging waves and tides, the results of which have been enormous power outages, beach erosion and serious coastal flooding all along the northeastern United States. More than a century of sea-level rise, has made seaside cities and towns more vulnerable to floods.

Storms create drama and drama often creates photo opportunities - Nor'easter Riley did along our beaches and Skylar did in our own back yard. There's a berm separating our yard from the parking lot that has 15-20 foot tall Italian cypress-like trees planted along its ridge and a flank of 10-12 foot tall rhododendrons on our side. Skyler's snows began in the early hours of the morning and persisted throughout the day until around 6:00 p.m. We have never seen snow flakes as large as these - some were the size of half-dollar coins, and they clung to everything making the world picture perfect.

When I ventured out, I found the snow was about 16 inches deep and light and fluffy, and between the two banks of trees was a magical cathedral of snow draped branches. So I'm sharing the slideshow I created of the images I captured hoping that you too can enjoy the beauty created by this storm.

Sunday, March 27, 2016

One week ago today was the official first day of Spring and for the second year in a row we had snow. I really don't mind. In fact, I love it - that's one of the many things I love about living in the northeast. Here's a quick look at what Spring looked like on the morning of March 20 in the Hamptons.

P.S. When I was confirming when the official start of Spring would be this year, I learned something I would probably never have discovered without the internet. Could I have lived without this little tidbit - of course, but I found it interesting in all its obscureness so I had to share it with you.

Spring equinox usually happens on March 20th or the 21st, and this year it will be the earliest since 1896 (120 years ago). Why? Well the reason goes back to Pope Gregory XIII, the guy who created the Gregorian calendar in 1582 (today's internationally accepted civil calendar).

A year on earth lasts 365.242 days which is dealt with by having most years have 365 days and every fourth year having 366 days; those years we call Leap Years. Under this system, a year is 365.25 days which is a hair longer than the actual length of a year. Trying to address this, Pope Gregory XIII declared that "years ending in '00' should not be leap years unless they are also diviseible by 400. So the year 2000 was a leap year but 1700, 1800 and 1900 were not, and 2100 won't be either."

According to EarthSky, via livescience.com, the 2000 leap year caused the Spring equinox to come about three-quarters of a day earlier than it did a century earlier in 1900. Ever since 2000, the March equinox of each leap year has happened earlier than the previous leap year, e.g. 2:25 a.m. EST in 2000, and 1:15 a.m. EDT in 2012 (on March 20th). This trend will continue until the end of this century and will even cross over to March 19th, e.g. 11:50 p.m. EDT in 2020, 11:06 pm. The earliest Spring equinox of the century will be at 10:03 p.m. EDT on March 19, 2096. (Check out the chart below.)

But remember Pope Gregory's rule, years ending in "00" shall not be leap years if they can be divided by 400, thus 2100 will not be a leap year and Spring will arrive later that year, by about a quarter of a day - once again on March 20th, around 9:01 a.m. EDT.

Monday, January 09, 2012

It's official, Open-Window is now two years old. I can hardly believe I began this blog on a cold January day, sitting at the island in my kitchen, 730 days ago. In the past two years, Open-Window has focused my days on creating stories, snippits, and photographs that I hoped you would find entertaining, sometimes informative, and maybe even amusing. We've covered a lot of ground and many diverse topics over this time ranging from Hawaii to Paris, Hamburger Relish to Caviar, Horse Racing to Airshow Acrobatics. As time has passed, we increasingly focused on the images and slide shows that would accompany a post, and have worked diligently to improve the quality of all that we delivered. Peter has continued to emphasize wide-angle HDR (high dynamic range) photography whether on his DSLR (digital single lens reflex-camera) or his, ever-handy, iPhone, and I have continued with my love of all-things-macro, although we each dabbled in the other's specialty just to keep it interesting.

Over the past twenty four months, we've made 388 postings to Open-Window which is an average of almost 4 per week, nearly every one containing at least one photograph and 60 of which included a slide show with music. When we embarked on this endeavor, we expected to focus on travel, food and photography. As it's turned out, the focus has been just that ... but in reverse - photography, food and travel. See, we'll photograph nearly anything - food that we eat, games that we play, children at the beach, machines of any sort, flowers and their residents, landmarks and landscapes, moon-rises and sunsets, and even light itself.

This year has been quite a journey photographically as well as geographically. Peter and I traveled over 14, 500 miles. We drove the entire east coast from the east end of Long Island to Orlando, Florida, traversing Florida, and turning north to reach Memphis Tennessee. We crossed the states of Tennessee and North Carolina end-to-end (west to east), photographing some of this country's most beautiful scenery in the Great Smoky Mountains. When we reached the Atlantic Ocean, it felt like we'd returned home, for tidal waters are in our veins, and the days on the Outer Banks are now cherished memories. Early morning sunrises over the ocean, wild horses on the beaches, hang gliding from the dunes, and fish tacos are just a few of the things we captured in-frame. With tornadoes nipping at our heels from western Florida, to Memphis and eventually to eastern North Carolina, we headed home just hours before their destruction hit the locales we'd come to know and love. Atlantic City was our refuge from the storms, before returning to the calm, untouched East End.

Thirty days and thirty nights, and 4,000 miles on the road gave us a tremendous, renewed appreciation for the beauty and diversity of this country we live in. A couple of hundred more miles were covered seeking out horses at Saratoga Springs in August. For one who isn't known as an animal lover, I do love photographing them. Whether in their stance or stride, they speak volumes to me and hopefully that is being captured by the lens. Finally, the balance of those miles (nearly 10,000) were accomplished by a trip to The Big Island of Hawaii, where we were able to photograph the incredible diversity of this island's landscape and all of its beauty from a helicopter.

More locally, we visited Belmont Park just a week before the Stakes were run and attended the Hampton Classic Horse Show every single day it was held over Labor Day weekend. There were at least three Antique Auto Shows, one Road Rallye and a Mini Cooper Scavenger Hunt that we shot as well. Our beaches on the east end of Long Island are some of the most breathtaking in the country (right up there with North Carolina's) and we spent many happy hours either hip deep in snow in January or ankle deep in sand in August, capturing the undulating shapes of their dunes draped in snow or the power of their seas after a storm.

The holidays that dot our calendars were also not ignored. Memorial Day is always an homage to the "Opening" of the Hamptons season. Flag Day, the 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and the Christmas season were all duly noted and celebrated with photographs too.

Meaty Tomato painted by Barbara Andolsek

Let me also add, ever so humbly, that I have once again been thrilled that Barbara Andolsek continues to make paintings based on some of my photographs. Barbara and I have yet to meet but feel a friendship beyond pen-pals. Nearly 3,000 miles apart but with a shared appreciation for the beauty of the world around us, Barbara and I have forged a friendship that could only occur in this wonderful 21st century. It still astounds me at how incredibly open and selfless so many people are using the internet to connect, communicate, and share. I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to be a part of it.

The word "blog" is derived from the expression "web log", which originally was an online journal of sorts and has morphed, over time, into a platform for communicating and exchanging information and ideas. I want to thank you all for your enthusiasm and support over the last two years but more importantly for your participation - "communication and exchange" are exactly what has occurred when you've left comments for us, and you've made it just that much more fun and interesting.

So here is a slide show which represents a snapshot of Open-Window's second year. It's shorter than last year's and yet still longer than most at just under 10 minutes. Perhaps you can set aside a little time next Sunday morning. We've made this for you, to enjoy and remember a year that we shared, and for that I want to say with great sincerity "Thanks for the memories".

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Signs of spring are to hard to find this year and it's painfully evident from recent conversations as well as from blogs that I follow, that our optimistic natures are being taxed with news of more storms, more snow, and/or more cold weather. The country seems desperate for any indication that spring is indeed on its way and will consider nearly anything a "sure sign". Could we consider the melting icicles in my back yard a sure sign?

Melting Icicles

Melting Icicle Reflections

Or could we consider the cardinal in John Stenerson's snow covered bird feeder in North Carolina a sure sign?

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Earlier this week you met R2D2, my Mini-Cooper, smiling and covered in the snow from the storm that didn't really happen. Well today's storm is happening - in spades. It started here after 4:00 a.m. and for all intents and purposes has yet to stop. It's changed character from big white wet flakes, to sleet, to driving snow. We're counting 8+ inches as I write.

As we knew the character of the storm would change, Peter and I went out before the wind picked up and the sleet began and caught some of those who were bracing for the storm.

Meet the French dude down the street, known as Deux Chevaux, looking like a big case of bad attitude to me. Hope he was taken some place warm and dry for the rest of the day.

And what about this neighbor of ours?

"Sergeant at Arms" is prepared not to be stuck to the windshield, but for what else, he's apparently just not sure!